Turbine-engine.



No. 871,792. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907. W. J. FRANGKE.

TURBINE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5, 1907.

2 SHEETB-SHEHT 1.

W/ TNE SSE S w VENTOI? 9. M U). J. Franck M By 1 ATTOHl/E No. 871,792. PATENTEDNOV. 26,1907. W. J. PRANGKE.

TURBINE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAE. 5. 1907 2 SHEETB-SHEET 2,

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WITNESSES INVENTOH WILLIAM J. FRANCKE, OF BRIDGEPOR'I, CONNECTICUT.

TURBINE -ENGIN E Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1907.

Application filed March 5.190'7- Serial No. 360.664.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM J. FnANoKn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairlield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Turbine- Engines and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to turbine engines and consists in the novel combination of parts and arrangements of parts, such as will be hereinafter fully set forth and then particularly pointed out in the claims which conclude this description.

My invention particularly has reference to elastic fluid turbines in which the fluid is expanded to the exhaust pressure in the nozzle and is admitted to the wheel tangentially.

In turbines of this type as heretofore constructed the buckets have been disposed on the wheel in a plane parallel with the wheel itself, and therefore the angle formed by the axis of the bucket with the jet constantly changes as the wheel revolves, and the buckets abstract the maximum of kinetic energy from the steam only at the moment when this angle is a right ngle, and when this angle is greater or less than a right angle the steam will pass through the buckets obliquely, thus causing a thinning of the steam stream and an increased friction.

In order to more. perfectly abstract the kinetic energy of the jet I keep the plane of the steam stream passing through the buckets constantly at right angles with the axis of the buckets, thereby avoiding oblique impingement.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this application Figure 1 is a side elevation of the engine with the casing partly broken away and sectionedFig. 2 an edge elevation of the engine with the casing partly broken away in section-Fig. 3 a section at the line at, a, of Fig. 1Fig. 4 a detail onlarged broken edge elevation of the wheel, showing the proper relative arrangement of a pair of double buckets, and Fig. 5 a detail broken side elevation of the wheel showing one of the buckets carried thereby.

Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

1 is the casing having in its periphery inlets 2 tangentially disposed, and provided with an exhaust opening 3.

4 is the shaft j ournaled within. the sides of the casing, the bucket carrying wheel being mounted on this shaft and formed from two disks 5 clamped together and reinforced by cheek-pieces 7, each disk having radially extending spokes S, and integral with the outer extremities of back extensions these spokes I form the arcuately disposed buckets 9, which latter are double as shown more particularly at Figs. 4 and 5.

On the inside of each side of the casing is an arcuately disposed rib 10 and guided on these ribs and clamped thereto in any suitable manner are plates 11 which carry at their outer extremities return buckets 12, the proper position of which latter may be insured by the adjustment of these plates on these ribs.

The proper relative arrangement of the wheel buckets and the return buckets is best shown at Fig. 1, it being of course understood that a similar arrangement exists 011 the opposite side of the wheel.

Referring to Fig. 1, the steam is illustrated as coming in at one of the inlets 2 and impinging against certain of the buckets 9, and then discharging at the bottom of these buckets into. a return bucket 12, thence assing through the latter bucket and disc larging into following wheel buckets, and then discharging at the bottom of these wheel buckets into another return bucket, and thence throughout the latter and discharging into following wheel buckets, and so on.

In order that the steam discharging from the bottoms of the wheel buckets may not impinge against the back portions of following buckets and thereby cause a back-lash, I incline these buckets as shown more particu larly at Fig. 41 so that the steam when discharging from the bottoms of these buckets will clear the follmving buckets as is illustrated more particularly at the right hand portion of Fig. 2, and this I consider a very important feature of my invention and one which contributes greatly to the obtaining of the maximum kinetic energy from the steam. It will thus be understood that the steam passes constantly through the wheel buckets at right angles with the axis of the latter and that oblique impingement of the steam is avoided.

The angle at which the return buckets receive the steam is the same as the incline formed by the plane of the buckets on the wheel with the plane of the wheel itself, and is such that it enables me to carry the steam around the outside of the buckets back to the periphery of the wheel and maintain a practically constant plane for the steam path. This incline, or the direction in. which the steam passage in the return buckets leaves the plane of the wheel, also enables me to put the entrance end of a second return bucket in a position between the first return bucket and the wheel and in such location as to receive the steam which the first return bucket delivered to the wheel.

Of course, I prefer to utilize the return buckets since I am thereby enabled to obtain the greatest amount of kinetic energy from the steam, but, owing to the-fact that the wheel buckets are so inclined that no backlash can occur I am enabled to develop considerable power without the return buckets, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the latter.

While the form of wheel described with the double buckets is preferable since the wheel is thereby well balanced and neither the buckets nor the wheel would be likely to collapse or suffer injury from strains caused by centrifugal force or otherwise, nevertheless I am enabled to obtain fairly good results by equipping the wheel with single buckets provided the latter are inclined as heretofore set forth, and therefore'I do not wish to be limited in this respect.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an elastic fluid turbine, a casing having inlets and an exhaust, a wheel carrying peripheral buckets, and return buckets of U- shape adjustably secured to the casing sides and disposed to have one end lie adjacent said first named buckets.

2. In combination with a casing having inlets and an outlet, a wheel carrying double peripheral buckets, and return buckets on opposite sides of said wheel supported from the casing sides.

3. In an elastic fluid turbine, the combination of a suitable casing provided with steam inlets and an exhaust, a double wheel journaled within said casing, the inclined buckets carried in pairs on opposite sides of said wheel, and the inclined return buckets secured to the casing sides on opposite sides of the side faces of the wheel and so located as to receive the exhaust steam from the lower ends of the wheel buckets and deliver the said steam into the upper ends of succeeding wheel buckets.

4. In an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination of a suitable casing provided with inlets and an exhaust, a Wheel carrying at its periphery double arcuately disposed inclined buckets which receive the fluid tangentially at the periphery of the wheel and exhaust it tangentially nearer the center of the wheel, and the double inclined return buckets which receive the exhaust steam from the wheel buckets and deliver the same to the outer extremities of the wheel buckets at the periphery of the wheel.

5. In combination with a casing having an inlet and an exhaust, a wheel composed 'of two disks, buckets on said disks, said disks being formed with spokes having their backs extended to form the inner sides of said buckets.

6. In combination with a casing having inlets and an outlet, a wheel formed of two disks each having radial spokes terminating in oppositely inclined buckets.

7. In combination with a casing having inlets and an outlet, a wheel composed of two disks each having radial spokes terminating in arc-shaped buckets which project beyond one side of said spokes.

8. In combination with a casing having inlets and an exhaust, a wheel composed of abutting disks having radial spokes and buckets formed with closed sides and ends.

9. In combination with a casing having an inlet and an exhaust, a wheel embodying a disk, and buckets having curved bottoms on said disk and having their inner faces formed by back extensions of said disk and having their inner ends offset from the outer face of said disk.

10. In combination with a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a wheel composed of a pair of disks each having radial spokes, buckets formed on said spokes, said buckets having their inner faces formed of back extensions on said disks, which extend from the outer ends of said spokes inwardly and which at their inner ends are offset from the outer faces of said disks, a curved bottom for each extension, and an outer side on each bottom.

11. In combination with a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a wheel carrying buckets on its outer side faces, and return buckets supported from the casing and having a long and a short leg, the long leg being disposed adjacent the center of the wheel and the short leg adjacent the inner circumference of the casing.

12. In combination with acasing having inlets and an outlet, a Wheel having buckets composed of substantially parallel sides disposed to have their outer ends closely associated and their inner ends comparatively widely separated.

13. In combination with a casing having inlets and an outlet, a wheel having buckets formed of substantially parallel sides and curved bottoms and disposed to receive the fluid at their outer ends and discharge the same at their inner ends at points outward from said outer ends.

14. In combination with a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a wheel carrying buckets on its side faces, and return buckets supported away from the casing sides and having two legs one of which underlies the inner ends of said buckets and the other of which overlies the outer ends of said buckets.

15. In combination with a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a wheel carrying radial buckets on opposite sides thereof and return buckets having legs, said legs being disposed between said wheel and the casing sides and having their legs arranged one over the other.

16. In combination with a casing having an inlet and an exhaust, a wheel carrying opposed buckets, the inner face of each bucket being formed by one side of said wheel and being offset at their inner ends from the outer faces of said wheel.

17. In combination with a casing having an outlet and inlet, a wheel formed of two abutting disks each having their outer portions slitted to form radial spokes, and buckets secured to the side faces of said spokes.

18. In combination with a casing having an inlet and outlet, a wheel having buckets in said casing, an arcuately disposed rib on the inner face of one side of said casing, and return buckets adjustably secured to said rib.

1.). In combination with a casing having an inlet and outlet, a wheel having buckets, a curved rib on the inner face ofone side of the casing, return buckets of J-shape having plates secured thereto, and meansto clamp said plates to said rib.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM J. FRANCKE.

Witnesses:

F. W. SMITH, M. T. LONGDEN. 

